As a highly selective residential liberal arts college, Whitman welcomes students who combine a passion for challenging intellectual work with an innovative breadth and diversity of academic and extracurricular interests and life experiences. The Princeton Review and Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives describe Whitman's admission process as one that is highly selective but cares more about students, who they are, and how they will contribute, rather than merely focusing on how they will impact the class profile.